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Margyricarpus pinnatus

Common name:	Pearl Berry	Family:	Rosaceae
Author:	(Lam.)Kuntze.	Botanical references:	11, 200
Synonyms:	Margyricarpus setosus (Ruiz.&Pav.), Empetrum pinnatum (Lam.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	S. America - Andes.
Habitat:	Not known
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Nd [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	pinnatus = pinnate;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Rose family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Chile

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 0.3m by 1m at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone 9 and is not frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from July to August, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid and neutral soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit - raw or cooked[2, 105]. Pleasant but mild with a slightly acid flavour[11, 183]. The fruit can hang on the plant for a long time in good condition if it is not eaten by birds etc[1]. The fruit is a small white berry about 7mm in diameter with a single seed[200]. Very attractive to look at, but the flavour is very mild and you need to spend quite a while picking just to get one mouthful[K]. Children really love the fuit, however, and this makes it an ideal plant to get them out of your hair for a while. Simply tell them that they can have as much of the fruit as they want and they will be there for half an hour or more picking it[K].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Diuretic.

Diuretic[46, 61].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Prefers a lime-free soil that is not too rich[11], with some shade at the hottest part of the day[200]. Requires a sunny position and a well-drained soil[11]. Requires a sheltered position[188]. Plants are low-growing and have done very well in our exposed maritime site in &ndndndnd[K].
This species is hardy to about -5°c[200]. It is our opinion that the plants are hardier than this[K], they have grown outdoors in many parts of Britain that experience colder winters, and have survived all but very severe winters[1, 11].
The plants do not fruit well in cool wet summers[K].

Propagation

Seed - sow late winter or early spring in a greenhouse[78]. The seed can be rather slow to germinate and probably needs a short period of cold stratification[K]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. When the plants are large enough, plant them out in late spring or early summer and consider giving them some protection from the cold for their first winter outdoors[K].
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 4 - 5 cm with a heel, July/August in a frame[78].
Layering[200].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Margyricarpus setosus (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Margyricarpus+pinnatus
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